Thorn Garden
by Vertices
Summary: Aki discovers something unpleasant. Crow, as always, doesn't mind. Established Crow/Aki, spoilers for episode 140, references to naughty activities.


Note: HELLO THIS FIC IS BASED OFF A WEIRD IDEA.  
Aki's powers were presented as not actually _psychic_ in the traditional sense, but essentially limited to materializing duel monsters. After she used them to heal in 140, though, even if it was unintentional, it looks like her powers are a lot more than that. It seems to me they're empathetic in the sense that they reflect the user's psyche and general emotional state - they manifested violently when she was angry and hurt, were destructive when she saw them as a curse and had a highly negative worldview, but became more positive once she had made friends and started moving forward. It seems very possible that the nature of her powers depend on how she feels, what kind of place she's at.  
So, naturally, I started thinking about this in the most perverted way possible.

xx

She broke a mirror their first time. One moment it was going great, going _wonderfully_, but when she came she was overcome with a pleasure so great that for a moment she lost control, let herself sink into the sweet frenzy, and the next thing she knew there was a shattering and a spray of glassy shards over them.

"Don't worry about it," Crow said, even though he was the one who had borne the brunt of the glass. But that was stupid, she couldn't _not _worry about it, not when there was an array of tiny cuts on his back.

"I ruined everything. I hurt you."

"Aki. Look at me." He cupped her chin in his hand and forced her to meet his eyes; she had been staring quite determinedly down at the bed. "You didn't hurt me. The mirror did, and it could've happened to anyone. Besides, I can barely feel this!" He grinned hopefully. "What kind of guy do you take me for?"

She bristled, and he could feel her pulling away. "It couldn't have happened to anybody," she said bitterly. "Just to me. And maybe it was just a mirror this time, but next time, who knows? You're in danger just being with me."

He smiled. "I'd rather be in danger with you than totally safe without you," he said, kissing her on the cheek. She frowned; she should be used to his bluntness by now, his cheesy lines delivered with complete sincerity, but they still made her feel a fluttering inside.

"I'm being serious, Crow."

"So am I."

Despite his best reassurances, though, she was still doubtful, and the next morning she woke up early to pack up the few things she had brought over. "I'm sorry," she said, pausing in the doorway, looking fresh and clean and yet somehow worn-down. "I just need a little time, alright?"

He considered himself a damn good boyfriend, the kind who treated her like a lady but not a like a damsel, who cooked her dinner and respected her and even offered to carry her bags when they went shopping, so he was perfectly willing to give her time. There were some things a girl needed to sort out on her own, right? It would just be annoying of him to not give her some space right now, and he, no matter what certain other duelists said, was most definitely not annoying.

Two days passed. Three. Five. A week. There was a difference, he thought, between a little time and an eternity. He had to call four times before she finally picked up, and when she did, she sounded hesitant, small. He immediately regretted not doing something sooner.

"I told you, I just need - "

"It's been a week, Aki," he said. "What can I say? I'm an impatient guy." But it was more than that. It was silly, it was stupid, but the thought had crossed his mind more than a few times that maybe, if he didn't reel her back in himself, she would just slip through his fingers like water, up and vanish without saying a word. "You need to talk to me."

"It's not about you," she said sharply. "This is my business - "

"But it is about me. It's because you broke that mirror, isn't it? And you're afraid you'll do it again."

She inhaled harshly.

"Come over," he said, softer. "This should be in person." She was quiet, so he threw down his trump card, what he had been saving because he knew she wouldn't be able to resist. "The kids miss you. They've been asking about you."

She didn't speak for a moment - that uneasy silence that came over her when she was deep in thought, that reminded him that no matter how far she'd come, she still had ghosts as bad as the rest of them, maybe worse - but finally said, "Alright. I'll be over tonight."

xx

"I don't want to hurt you," she said. There was no pretense, no friendly smalltalk; she began to speak as soon as she had seated herself in his kitchen. Once the words started coming, they were unstoppable, overpowering. "You deserve better than that. You're... you're so kind, so wonderful. You deserve someone who can't kill you without even trying to."

"It's a bit too late for that," he said casually. She blinked at him uncomprehendingly. "Why don't you get it? For better or worse, Aki, I'm already in love with you."

Her cheeks pinkened immediately, but he wasn't done. "Don't forget that I've seen a lot worse than broken glass in my life. That's nothing. And anyway, your powers only flared up when you came, right?" It was the first time either of them had even mentioned that night, and she found herself blushing all the harder for how direct he was about it. He found her hand, threaded his fingers through hers. "We can wait. Give me some credit here. I'm a healthy young man, but I have self-control." He squeezed. "There are lots of other things we can do."

xx

Their second time, she had everything under control, was utterly _determined_ to have everything under control - so much so that Crow had to tell her to relax a little, it wasn't fun when she was tense like that. As she approached her climax, she could feel them under her skin, bubbling to the surface, coming closer with each panted breath. She bit into his shoulder but didn't tell him to stop, not now, she didn't want him to stop now. She had it under control.

But she slipped, let go, and as she arched her back and cried out, the room began to tremble with her: the bed, the floor, the rattling and clinking of dozens of little trinkets. It barely lasted a few seconds before it quietly subsized, scarcely more than a tiny, very specific earthquake.

They were quiet for a moment, still locked in an extremely compromising position. "I'm sorry," she said finally, "I couldn't... I'm sorry."

"Are you kidding?" He grinned. "We _literally_ made the earth move. How awesome is that?


End file.
